Introduction
Recombinant
bovine somatotropin is an artificial growth hormone that is derived from the
natural growth hormone (bovine somatotropin) in a dairy cow. It is created with
recombinant DNA technology, which synthesizes the hormone to make a copy almost
the same as the natural one. Monsanto was the developer; they named rBST Posilac, and were planning on making it
commercial (LaFrance, 2004).
Production and Release
Monsanto, a
billion-dollar corporation, knew their product was not completely tested, that many
scientists could bring the product down if they got their hands on Posilac before it would be accepted by
the FDA. Monsanto made sure everyone around them, judging Posilac would have a great wad of cash in their pockets, and they
assured the release of Posilac in
1993, in America (Bellack, 2006).
Pros
The
benefits of Posilac were indeed
satisfactory for farmers who wanted to rake in money with their dairy cows.
First of all, the dairy cows that would be injected with the growth hormone
would be able to produce from 11-15% more milk than usual (DesCôteaux, 2003). This
is a huge increase for any dairy farmer and they would be able to profit from
this. Secondly, the growth hormones helps calves develop into adulthood much
faster, decreasing the amount of time a farmer would have to wait to get
another dairy cow milking, taking into consideration that she needs to foal a
calf first as well. In 2004, a quarter of the United States’ dairy farms were
using Posilac, making dairy farming
an high-profit business for the US back then (LaFrance, 2004). It was
beneficial for the rural communities. Posilac
also made the cows eat more grain, thus producing rich, full milk and being
large and containing even more milk than their starting dairy weight.
Cons
But Posilac also has its downsides, many,
many downsides. Posilac in
artificial, and already that tells us that when we put it in a cow, it is not a
natural thing: it should not really be there. Posilac gave a 25% higher risk for the dairy cows to get mastitis.
Mastitis is an inflammation in the udders which causes cows much pain,
discomfort, therefore stress, which leads to their milk souring, and it is simply
dangerous to their health and very costly to take care of. Posilac was then also found to heighten the level of infertility in
a cow by 18%, and also heightened the risk of lameness by 18%. Monsanto even
stated themselves that Posilac had
over 20 negative side-effects including uterine, reproductive and digestive
disorders. Posilac was also filed for
increasing the risk of breast cancer in women, and prostate cancer in men.
Also, it was listed to be causing girls to hit puberty at a younger age than
the average (LaFrance, 2004).
Critique
Therefore,
with the gathered information I have decided that Posilac is hazardous and should not at all be used. Dairy cows live
to give milk and they deserve not to be injected with hormones just so they can
produce more milk. Posilac also has
an effect on our health, our own growth and development, in a toxic and
dangerous way. Though there is Posilac-free
milk in Canada, Americans can still buy it and that should not be, but one
cannot fight with a billion-dollar corporation such as Monsanto. They fought
and bought to come in and I won’t be the protestor who will give up their time
to uselessly fight back. Truly it is an abomination that humans should be
exposed to this in their dairy products, and our health and the health of our
future generations should be considered, not just their bank accounts. I also
find that risking your dairy cow’s lifespan to this drug is quite ridiculous.
Over 20 negative side effects were listed from Monsanto themselves, that was
probably enough to keep most farmer’s heads clear and to not use artificial
hormones to speed up their process. I call all this being lazy, impatient for
the simple reason of making money. These aren’t farmers, their greedy people
who have cows for the money. I disagree totally with Posilac for all those reasons.
Conclusion
Posilac is banned in Canada, was always, and in other countries
such as Japan and New-Zealand. Today, Americans still use rBST on their dairy
cows, but when they sell their milk, they must assure the customer with a label
on their packaging saying that the cows making the milk were induced with Posilac.
Bibliography
Articles from Google
Scholar
Bellack, Michael. Through Whose Looking Glass? 2006:
19-20.
Capper, Judith L. The
environmental impact of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) use in dairy
production. Jan. 2008.
LaFrance, Kari Jeanne. Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone. May.
2004.
DesCôteaux, L, Dohoo I.R. and
Leslie, K. A
meta-analysis review of the effects of recombinant bovine somatotropin. 2003
I did have 'pros' back then, but if you read them carefully, they're 'great' for their own coffers, not for the environment.
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